Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 43 (edited)

Chapter 43

The visions came to an end. The two ravens took flight. Odin gasped for breath, how could the worlds have deteriorated so much, so quickly? How could this madness be fought? Tears streamed from his one remaining eye, he made no move to wipe them.  Kvasir cried out in pain, and clutching his chest he cried,

"Ragnarok, so the end has come at last?"

Odin made no reply, he just stared at the autumn scene before him, this wasn't Ragnarok, despite how bad things had become, and it could get a lot worse yet.

"Well?" demanded Kvasir. "Is this the end that you foresaw when you drank from Mimir's well?"

"No! This is just the worlds going through some changes, whether it is for good or ill I cannot say."

Kvasir clutched at his chest again and fell to his knees. Odin could see that his friend's time had come. He sighed deeply, he could see where all this was leading but he could not lay that burden on a dying gods shoulders.

"Come my friend, it is time to make your final journey to Fensalir and join the other gods."

"No!" Kvasir spat into the grass. "I won't go, let me die a true death!"

Kvasir was gasping for breath. He was shaking and trembling violently but his eyes still blazed fiercely as he spat his final words at Odin.

"Let me die! I will not be part of your pathetic little cemetery!"

A look of hurt flashed across Odin's face, he was doing the best he could for the gods. Although he wasn't related to any of them, they all called him father, they were his family and he would do everything he could for them.

"I am sorry my old friend but you have no choice!" Kvasir tried to reply but his strength had failed him, he fell flat on the grass and lay still. Odin closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"It is time!" Picking Kvasir up and cradling him like a child, Odin began the walk towards Fensalir.

Fensalir was once the great hall of the earth goddess and first wife of Odin, Frigg. After the death of their son Balder, Frigg had gone mad with grief, she evicted all her servants and locked herself away in the hall where she slowly wasted away and was never to be seen again. Odin had declared that Fensalir remain untouched and it became Frigg's tomb. However his second wife Freyja had said that was an extremely poor way to honour her memory. After endless pestering and persuasion Odin gave in and Fensalir's doors were once again opened. The place was cleaned out, all the dead plants removed. The dwarves were commissioned to build an elaborate marble sarcophagus which was placed in the centre of the hall. A magnificent garden was planted around it. The rest of the floor was turned to grass and even waterfalls and little streams ran through it. Once Frigg's remains were entombed two more statues were brought into the garden, they were of Balder and his wife Nanna.

Odin carried the limp form of Kvasir through the garden of Fensalir. Many more statues now stood in between the beautiful plants and soon Kvasir's statue would join them. Odin laid the god on the grass and looked across at Frigg's tomb. Weak autumn sunlight filtered down through the skylights and bathed the sarcophagus in orange light. Odin had loved his first wife very much but he couldn't help but feel anger and resentment. If only she had made that mistletoe plant swear not to hurt Balder. If only she hadn't let Loki trick her into revealing that mistake. Would all this be happing now? Was that one little mistletoe plant the root cause of all this devastation? Odin began to sing softy as he went to work arranging Kvasir's body. It was an extremely sad song, a lament full of grief and pain.

Freyja leaned silently against the doors of Fensalir and watched Odin work. He had such a beautiful singing voice and it broke her heart to hear it full of grief and pain. Odin was a strong and sometimes harsh ruler but everything he did was out of love for the Aesir. Using a spell, he had learnt from Gullveig, Odin turned Kvasir into stone. He then spoke charms and spells of binding and entrapment, and this would keep Kvasir's soul trapped inside the statue and stop it from moving on. Odin hoped that one day he would find a way to revive the gods and then the Aesir could be made whole again. Once the spell was complete Odin broke down, his grief and pain overcame him. Tears streaked down Freyja's face as she moved forward and knelt at Odin's side. Together the leaders of the diminishing Aesir mourned the loss of yet another god.